Changing the axis view in Blender means aligning your viewport camera to look directly along a specific global or local coordinate axis, or aligning it based on the orientation of a selected object or face. This is crucial for precise modeling, sculpting, and scene composition.
Changing Global Axis Views
Blender uses Numpad keys as default hotkeys to quickly switch between standard global axis views. These views align the camera to look down the X, Y, or Z axis of the scene's world coordinates.
Here are the common global axis view hotkeys:
- Numpad 1: Front Orthographic view (Looking along the -Y global axis)
- Ctrl + Numpad 1: Back Orthographic view (Looking along the +Y global axis)
- Numpad 3: Right Orthographic view (Looking along the -X global axis)
- Ctrl + Numpad 3: Left Orthographic view (Looking along the +X global axis)
- Numpad 7: Top Orthographic view (Looking along the +Z global axis)
- Ctrl + Numpad 7: Bottom Orthographic view (Looking along the -Z global axis)
As the reference indicates, Ctrl + Numpad 3 specifically aligns the view to the Left global axis (+X). These hotkeys primarily switch to an Orthographic projection (see below), which flattens the view and removes perspective, ideal for aligning objects.
Aligning View to Local Axes or Selected Elements
While global axes are fixed, objects and components (like faces or edges) have their own local axes. Aligning the view to a local axis lets you look head-on at an element regardless of its orientation in the world.
The reference highlights how to do this:
- You can align to a local axis of the selected item by additionally holding Shift while using the Numpad axis hotkeys.
For example:
- Shift + Numpad 1: Align View to Selected -> Front (Looks along the selected item's local -Y axis or the average normal of selected faces/vertices)
- Shift + Numpad 3: Align View to Selected -> Right (Looks along the selected item's local -X axis or the average normal)
- Shift + Numpad 7: Align View to Selected -> Top (Looks along the selected item's local +Z axis or the average normal)
Using Shift this way allows you to achieve specific alignments, such as viewing a mesh face head-on, no matter how it's oriented in 3D space. This is incredibly useful for precise editing.
Switching Between Orthographic and Perspective View
Axis views obtained via Numpad 1, 3, 7 (and their Ctrl variations) usually switch to an Orthographic projection.
- Numpad 5: Toggles the viewport between Perspective and Orthographic projection.
Perspective view simulates real-world depth, while Orthographic view removes perspective distortion, making it easier to align objects and judge dimensions accurately.
Using the View Menu
If you don't have a Numpad or prefer using menus, you can access the same view options through the 3D Viewport header menu:
- Click the View menu.
- Navigate to Viewpoint.
- Choose the desired Global Axis view (Front, Back, Right, Left, Top, Bottom).
- Under View > Align View, you can find options like "Align Active Camera to View" or the "Align View to Selected" options (Shift + Numpad equivalents).
Practical Tips
- Look for the View Orientation Gizmo in the top-right corner of the 3D Viewport. You can click on the colored axis labels (X, Y, Z) on the gizmo to snap to that global axis view. Clicking the colored circles between axes (e.g., between X and Z) will give you diagonal orthographic views. Clicking the white sphere in the middle will toggle between perspective and orthographic views.
- These axis view changes only affect the viewport you are currently using, not the render camera.
